I’ve been searching high and low for the best, most-frictionless (i.e. no or non-intrusive registration) online tools for self-discovery. Many of these methods, such as the psychometric test, have been around for a long time, in some form or another, and now we can access them online (most completely free) and get instant results. You may find them quite eye-opening, like I did! Particularly when I took the Career Aptitude Test…
1. Myers-Briggs Personality Type (MBPT) Assessment Tools
Many of us have been subjected to MBPT tools at some point. Lots of employers use them. Although perhaps a little less so nowadays. They’re still great assessors of our personality types!
16Personalities is a Myers-Briggs assessment tool I have use, and recommend to others. What I like about this is the mapping of the standard four-letter personality-type onto a persona. It’s much more fun and engaging because it uses simpler words. It’s free to use and you don’t need to register (unless you want to receive an email with your results.)
Humanmetrics have a MBPT tool you can use right away. It uses more intelligent language (much closer to the original test devised on the theories of Carl Jung and Isabel Briggs Myers. ) Not as funky as the one above, but certainly does the job.
2. DISC Personality Test
DISC tests determine your DISC type and personality profile, based on the DISC factors: Dominance, Influence, Steadiness and Compliance. These traits predict our behavior towards others and the everyday actions we take.
123Test is free and quick to use. I like the way it’s presented and you select the best answers to statements with the thumbs up or down buttons.
DiscPersonalityTesting has a quick, 12-question DISC test too. You do have to register for free, but so far it hasn’t been spammy for me.
3. Career Aptitude Test
I found this awesome career aptitude test on 123Test which I was impressed with. It asks you to rate the best and worst from four options of job activities. Then add in your education level and it computes the ideal vocations in rank order. This was an eye-opener to me as the top jobs it suggests I should do, at 100% match, are jobs I have never considered: Street Artist, Illustrator, Artistic Painter, Sculptor, Glass Artist or Cartoonist! And ‘Dancer’ came in at 87%! I am beginning to feel like I chose the wrong career path…
WhatCareerisRightForMe.com also have such a test – and this one goes right to the nub of the questions. It’s quick and easy to use, but perhaps requires you to be more self-aware than the above test. This one suggested I become a Bioinformatic Technician – quite the departure from the advice above. It also recommends Video Game Developer, and also Choreographer! Dancing again! I really am in the wrong job!
4. Big Five Personality Test
HR professionals regularly use the Big Five personality dimensions to place employees in the right jobs because these dimensions are considered by some to be the underlying factors of an individual’s personality.
The Big Five personality traits spell out OCEAN, and are:
- Openness
- Conscientiousness
- Extroversion
- Agreeableness
- Neuroticism
Psychology Today have a Big Five test that you can take for free, and get snapshot results (and for $6.95 get a detailed report). The snapshot is a good place to start and comes from a very big brand in this space – I haven’t upgraded though.
And once again, 123Test have a Big Five Personality Test, and this one is totally free, and easy to use. There are a lot of questions (as all Big Five tests do) – 120 in all – so make sure you have enough time!
